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head is not the right

I think that photo is a bobcat, guys. Not just because of the docked tail (who would dock a cougar tail anyway), but because the ears show a coloration change (as does the tail, which would not be true of a docked cougar).

Note how drab the coloration on this cougar's back is:

Now look at the ears, tail color, and general length of tail on the one photographed in the Smokies:

Finally, look at the white color patch on the back of the ear. Here's a bobcat in a zoo:

Now here's the best shot I could find on the internet of a cougar ear seen from the same side.

I believe there are likely to be cougars in the Smokies, but I don't think that's one.

Hard to tell what it is other than some type of wild cat. The photo is at a bad angle for really telling. It doesn't have any spots but I suppose not all bobcats have the spots and their winter coat may be heavier.

Without having been there, it's really hard to say.

I think what CB saw that started this thread sure sounded like a cougar.

I've seen several bobcats in the wild but never seen a cougar in the wild only seen them in zoos (which always made me kind of sad as they should be out in the wild).

Regardless of what it is in the photo, it's a rare sighting and wish it was me who saw it.

"Unless one can enjoy himself fishing with the fly, even when his efforts are unrewarded, he loses much real pleasure. More than half the intense enjoyment of fly-fishing is derived from the beautiful surroundings, the satisfaction felt from being in the open air, the new lease of life secured thereby, and the many, many pleasant recollections of all one has seen, heard and done." - Charles F. Orvis

Carolina Boy--You almost certainly saw a cougar. Getting officials to admit as much might be problematic, but all your descriptions ring true, and a mountain lion's tail is precisely as you describe it.
Jim Casada